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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5663 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5663
To establish a program at the National Science Foundation to fund
research awards to reproduce federally funded research.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 30, 2026
Ms. Lummis introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a program at the National Science Foundation to fund
research awards to reproduce federally funded research.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting Reproducibility and
Oversight of Federal Research Act'' or the ``PROOF Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the National Science Foundation.
(2) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001).
(3) STEM.--The term ``STEM'' means the academic and
professional disciplines of science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics.
SEC. 3. REPRODUCIBILITY AND REPLICATION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.
(a) In General.--
(1) Authorization of awards.--The Director shall make
awards, through a competitive, merit-review process to
institutions of higher education to support the replication of
federally funded research.
(2) Restriction on discrimination.--In carrying out this
section, the Director may not include, expressly or impliedly,
any grant award condition or requirement for a grant applicant
to engage in discrimination, grant preferential treatment, or
impose adverse treatment on the basis of race, color, religion,
sex, national origin, or any other characteristic for which
discrimination is prohibited under Federal law in carrying out
the proposed research.
(b) Application.--
(1) In general.--An institution of higher education seeking
an award under subsection (a) shall submit an application to
the Director at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Director may require.
(2) Contents.--An application submitted under paragraph (1)
shall include, at a minimum--
(A) an identification of the federally funded
research to be replicated;
(B) a description of how the proposed replication
would contribute to the reliability, transparency, and
advancement of scientific knowledge;
(C) evidence that the applicant has the capacity
and capability to conduct the proposed replication with
existing infrastructure or minimal need for new
acquisitions;
(D) a description of the number, size, and nature
of any stipends that will be provided by the applicant
to students and the reasons such stipends are needed;
(E) an identification of any known conflicts of
interest or conflicts of commitment the applicant may
have with respect to the proposed research;
(F) metrics for analyzing the reproducibility of
the research; and
(G) a proposed timeline for completing the
replication of the proposed research.
(c) Review of Applications.--In evaluating applications submitted
under subsection (b), the Director--
(1) shall consider, at a minimum--
(A) the extent to which the proposed replication
will contribute to greater scientific understanding;
(B) the extent to which the applicant has the
capability and capacity to carry out the proposed
replication;
(C) a cost-benefit analysis of conducting the
proposed replication at the respective institution,
including consideration of new infrastructure
acquisitions; and
(D) any scientific integrity implications of the
applicant conducting the replication, including
conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment; and
(2) shall not discriminate against, grant preferential
treatment to, or impose adverse treatment against applicants on
the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin or
any other characteristic for which discrimination is prohibited
under Federal law.
(d) Use of Funds.--
(1) In general.--An institution of higher education that
receives an award under this section shall use the funds to
cover reasonable costs of activities supporting the replication
of federally funded research, including--
(A) tuition and stipends for eligible students
described in paragraph (2);
(B) materials, instrumentation, and associated
facility costs;
(C) travel for activities related to research
replication; and
(D) costs associated with analysis of the
scientific reproducibility of federally funded
research.
(2) Eligible students.--A student is eligible to receive
support under this section if the student--
(A) is--
(i) a citizen of the United States;
(ii) a national of the United States (as
defined in section 101(a) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a))); or
(iii) an alien lawfully admitted to the
United States for permanent residence;
(B) intends to enroll, or is enrolled full-time, in
a research-based master's degree program in a STEM
field;
(C) holds a bachelor's degree in a STEM field
related to the research for which the student seeks
support; and
(D) has not received a doctoral or terminal degree
in any field.
(e) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the first
award made under this section, and annually thereafter, the Director
shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of
the House of Representatives a report summarizing--
(1) the total number of replication awards made under this
section;
(2) the total number of students supported under this
section;
(3) the number of replication awards made under this
section, by academic field and original funding agency; and
(4) an analysis of the reproducibility of the findings of
the original research compared with the findings of the
replicated research supported under this section.
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